EFAtools

• efa_simulate() gains missing_vars, to restrict missingness to selected variables.
• Fixed efa_simulate()'s reported population under marginals = "VM" and force_pd = TRUE.

Factor Retention

• The type argument of efa_ekc() and ekc_type of efa_retain() no longer have any effect: the empirical Kaiser criterion now always follows Braeken and van Assen (2017). Suggested factor counts can differ from earlier results.
• efa_nest() results can now be plotted.
• efa_parallel() now shares simulated reference data between "PCA" and "SMC", roughly halving simulation time. Results for a given seed can differ from before.

Input Validation and Correlation Handling

• efa_* arguments with fixed choices are now case-insensitive and accept unambiguous abbreviations.
• Correlation matrices supplied as data frames are now recognised and analysed correctly.
• Correlation-matrix smoothing now consistently returns a positive-definite matrix.

Missing Data and Multiple Imputation

• efa_mi()'s rmsr_upper argument is deprecated and no longer used.
• With target_method = "consensus", efa_mi()'s pooled result no longer depends on the order of data_list. Results can differ from earlier versions.
• efa_mi()'s pooled RMSEA is now capped at 1, and its confidence interval is withheld when it excludes the point estimate.
• An efa_mi() solution now reports the Heywood status of each imputation, in mi_admissibility.
• A cor_method = "fiml" fit with analytic standard errors now withholds loading standard errors when the rotation is weakly determined, matching the other standard-error methods.

Model Estimation

• The "uls" estimator now minimises the full residual, including the diagonal, matching its analytic gradient. Results can shift for over-factored models.
• Starting values for the "paf", "ml", and "uls" estimators are now kept within [0, 1], matching psych::smc().
• estimate_control() gains fiml_max_iter and fiml_tol, to control the FIML algorithm.
• A cor_method = "fiml" fit now reports its convergence status in a new fiml component, and warns if it does not converge.
• An RMSEA confidence interval that cannot be computed is now reported as NA, instead of stopping the fit.

Ordinal Correlations

• Perfectly ordered polychoric or tetrachoric pairs are now reported as 0.9999/-0.9999, with a warning.
• Binary pairs with an empty response cell now use a margin-preserving continuity correction.
• Unavailable asymptotic variances for polychoric or tetrachoric pairs are now reported as NA, and affected robust standard errors are withheld.
• Rare response patterns in strongly correlated pairs are now handled more accurately. They less often block DWLS or robust standard errors.

Power Analysis

• efa_power() with group > 1 now always solves for a whole-number sample size per group.
• In simulation mode, efa_power() now reports NA, not a misleading hit rate, when a retention criterion never gives a suggestion.
• In simulation mode, efa_power() now rejects a p that disagrees with the population model, instead of silently replacing it.

Printed Output

• Truncated variable names that would collide in loading tables are now abbreviated and numbered, so they stay distinguishable.
• print()/format() for Schmid-Leiman loading matrices now honour max_name_length, name_style, sort_loadings, and max_factors_per_block.

Reliability and Factor Scores

• efa_reliability() and OMEGA() now compute every omega total from the model's full implied common variance, including cross-loadings and contributions from other group factors. Results can change for solutions with cross-loadings.
• The whole-scale row of a correlated-factors solution is now labelled "total", not "g"/"general", which implied a general factor such solutions do not have.
• efa_reliability() now recognises several solution types correctly, including Schmid-Leiman tables and single-factor solutions, which were previously misclassified, mislabeled, or refused.
• efa_scores() and FACTOR_SCORES() with method = "Bartlett" or "Anderson" now stop on a communality at or above 1, instead of returning unusable weights.
• efa_scores() and FACTOR_SCORES() now reject scoring data with a constant, infinite, or too-short variable, instead of silently returning NaN scores.

Rotation

• Oblique rotations, including efa_procrustes(), now refuse a nearly singular transformation matrix at every step. Results can differ for near-degenerate solutions.
• A gradient-projection rotation is now reported as converged only when its projected gradient meets tolerance. Convergence flags can differ from before.

Standard Errors

• efa_fit(se = "sandwich") now withholds standard errors and confidence intervals when a Heywood case occurs.
• Bootstrap output now reports the number of usable replicates when fewer than requested are available.
• Analytic standard-error output now includes factor and variable names in SE$Phi and vcov_unrot_loadings.